For those of you who get stiffed without anything good to unwrap, CampusCompare has got you covered with the new COMPARE tool.  Select up to three schools for easy side-by-side comparison, plus instant insight into how well they fit YOU. Get info on everything from acceptance rates to party schools to getting into college. Now that’s a gift that fits better than a sweater from your grandma.  Try it on now!

CampusCompare is here to say,
Get out your pen and don’t delay.
Our essay contest has just begun,
Send us your work, you could be the one.

“Essay Enlightenment” is what we present,
It’s certainly a fun and interesting event.
Your college essay is what we crave,
Be funny, be sad, be creative and brave.

It could be the factor that sets you apart,
So be sure that you look deep into your heart.
And if your essay is, in fact, the bomb,
How’s $200 bucks from Amazon.com.

And if you win ‘cause you got the flow,
You’ll get to sit down with our essay pro.
The three runners-up will not be left out,
You get the writing sesh too, that’s right, no doubt.

So get zen with your pen, don’t let this chance pass,
I know you that heard me, so get off of your…chair.
This is your fortune to admissions success,
So send in your essay and eliminate your stress.

A divine essay may be deep in your brain,
And deity status is what you’ll attain.
For more information, here’s where you should go,
Good day, good luck and go WIN THAT DOUGH!!

According to Walter Mischel and his marshmallow test, if I’m able to withstand the craving for a marshmallow placed in front of me, I’ll have a good social life and do well in school. If I eat it, well…

Since when are marshamallows clairvoyant? I wonder if there’s a chocolate test—I’d definitely fail that one.

Mischel is a Columbia University psychologist, which is nothing to sneeze at. I know his test has more to do with analyzing self-control and discipline, but I can’t get s’mores and hot cocoa off my mind now.

Imagine if schools start requiring the marshmallow test instead of the SATs or the ACTs? That, my college-bound friends, would be sweet.

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We here at CampusCompare sent lots of happy thoughts and good karma your way as you took the PSAT today. We’d love to hear what you thought of the test–post a comment when you get home from school today and let us know how it all went down!

2. Get parents on your side by suggesting alternatives to costly college visits. High schoolers can a get a real sense of college life through reviews, videos, and comments posted by current students. This stays credible with the teens and saves parents an expensive campus visit.

3. Introduce students to schools they haven’t heard of. It’s easy to fall into the rut of recommending the same 10 or 20 schools each year to seniors. With CampusCompare, you can search hundreds of schools by academic major, school size, SAT/ACT range, campus location etc. to find a better match than those same old 10 or 20 schools. Remember, the right college match could be in another time zone—or right in your backyard.

4. Help keep students on track with application deadlines. CampusCompare’s nifty calendar tool is automatically fed with important date reminders, such as test dates and application deadlines. Help your students get the stress out of their schedules by using this online resource to get them organized.

5. Give deluded students a reality check. A lifetime dosage of “you can do anything!” will certainly workwonders for John or Jane Senior’s self-esteem, but it can also cause them to reach out of their league and be destined for a rude awakening. A round or two of rolling the dice with CampusCompare’s “What Are My Chances?” tool can soften the blow by preparing him to see realistic acceptance odds.

I want to be an actor on Broadway or in Hollywood one day, so I’m looking at college theatre and drama programs. It seems like there are a lot of good schools in New York and California, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to make a huge move like that yet. Any advice?

Signed,
I Wanna Be Famous

Dear Famous,

New York and California are certainly where many film and theatre people live and work. And sure, there are definitely excellent undergraduate programs in theatre and film in these cities; Wagner College, New York University, USC, and UCLA to name just a few.

However, don’t believe for one second that NYC and Hollywood are the only options you have when looking for theatre and drama programs. There are many schools throughout the country with excellent programs that will prepare you well, regardless of their location.

Don’t believe me? I contacted the folks at some schools outside of NY and La-La Land and here’s what they had to say:

From Linda Essig, director of the School of Theatre and Film in the Herberger College of the Arts at Arizona State University : “I usually advise students to follow their passion. But for many students, NY or LA are mythological rather than real places. There are excellent, professionally oriented programs in theatre and/or film throughout the country.  Students should look at who is on the faculty and what their professional activities are on a national and international level.”

From Chris Roberts, Chair of the Dept. of Film, Video, and Theatre at Stevenson University (formerly Villa Julie College):  “We encourage our students to work on the films that come right here to Maryland, and also to intern at the local stations in the Baltimore/Washington, DC area. We also have many students employed at Discovery Communications in Silver Spring. There are over 50 theatres in the Baltimore/Washington,DC area, and we encourage our students to take advantage of those opportunities as well. All of our full time faculty are actively working in the field which gives our students plenty of networking opportunities.”

Ha! Take that, NY and LA!

Check this blog next week when Babs gives more tips on film and theatre programs! As always, feel free to e-mail her questions about your college search.

The professor’s study tracked the performance of Duke students who reported having at least one Duke grad as a family member, as well as the performance of other students whose parents are college-educated, but not Duke alumni. 

The legacy students’ achieved a lower GPA during freshman year, and reported a perception of “lower levels of ability and confidence” in the classroom compared to their non-legacy peers.

It will be interesting to see if this study breeds more investigation into the performance of legacy students at other colleges. When you think about it, favoring legacy students in the admissions process (a common practice at lots of top schools around the country) is only making the rich richer, and keeping students from middle-class families out of the top colleges.

These schools have the highest enrollment, by percent, of undergraduate students over the age of 25. 

10.  University of Maryland - University College (82%)
9.  Peirce College (83%)
8.  Kaplan University (85%)
7.  University of Phoenix (88%)
6.  Thomas Edison State College (88%)
5.  Union Institute and University (94%)
4.  Woodbury College (95%)
3.  Charter Oak State College (95%)
2.  Western Governors University (95%)
1.  Excelsior College (97%)

Are you a non-traditional college student trying to make sense of the college search and application process? You can find all the answers at CampusCompare.